Cattle-car



W. G. ALSTON.

Cattle-Gar.

No. 225,911. Patented Mar. 30, 1880.

N4 PETERS. PKOMLITKOGRAPHER. WASMINGYON. D.C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM C. ALSTON, OF PERRYSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

CATTLE-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,911, dated March 30,1880.

Application filed January 22, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM G. ALs'roN, of Perrysville, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cattle-Oars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of a cattle-car, showing my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same through the lines was, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detached view of the hinged joint made use of in my invention.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts wherever they occur.

My invention relates to an improvement in cattle-cars; and it has for its object the separation of cattle from each other during transportation by means of portable and adjustable stalls, and also the providing of suitable means for feeding and caring for the cattle while they remain in the car; and it consists in an arrangement of adjustable stalls, doors, feed-racks, and troughs in cattle-cars, which stalls, doors, 860., may be easily removed and packed away in a small space whenever it is desired to use the car for other purposes than that of carrying cattle.

a is a section of a cattle-car, such as are in common use, the sides being built of slats, so as to afford sufficient light and ventilation. Across the middle and at the top of the car is a beam, 1), and from this beam, running at right angles from it to the end of the car, about two feetfrom the side of the car, is another beam, 0. On the under side of the beam b are two holes or slots, d, and directly beneath the slots 01 are two similar holes or slots, cl 01, in the floor of the car, into which slots (1 d and d cl fit the pintles of upright posts 6 0. Between these posts 0 eis a board partition, 6, extending from about two feet from the bottom of the car up-,

ward about four feet. Extending from these posts 0 e to the sides of the car are gates f f,

of about the same height as the partition 0.

from the sides of the gates, and the hinges are also so constructed that the gates may swing to either side of the posts 0 e close up against the partition 6.

The gates ffmay be kept closed by means of a pin and staples on the sides of the car and the ends of the gates. These gates ff and the partition 0 form a partition across the middle of the car and divide it into two equal parts, which are marked in the drawings as and y.

In the under side of the beams c are anumber of slots or holes, g, and directly below the slots 9 are slots g in the floor of the car. These slots 9 and g are similar to the slots d and cl. Stepped in these slots 9 and g are the posts h, to which posts are fastened the swinging gates '5, which extend across the car, and may be held shut or closed by means of a pin and staples in the side of the car and the end of the gate. These gates itaper from the posts to the side of the car, and when closed form stalls extending across the car, whereby the cattle are kept separated from each other.

The first or the first two gates from the central partition, 6, are constructed differently from the others, (as the partition 6 would keep them from swinging aside sufficiently to allow the cattle to pass through.) They are made in two pieces, hinged togetherthat is, the gate is divided perpendicularly at or near its middle into two parts, 1 and 2, which parts are joined by the hinges f at the top and bottom of the gate, which hinges are similar to those already described and shown in Fig. 4, and allow the end 1 of the gate to swing to either side of the part 2, and yet without forming a projection against which the cattle may rub. By forming the first two gates from the partition 6 in this manner they may be folded and swung out of the road to allow the cattle to pass to the end of the car.

The number of gates used may be in proportion to the size of the cattle and of the car, and the stalls may be increased or decreased in size by changing the upright posts of the gates to the next slot in beam 0 and the floor of the car.

Extending from the central partition to the end of the car, ordinarily, there may be about six gates in each of the compartments :1:

IOO

and y, which will form seven stalls, making the car capable of carrying fourteen (more or less) head of cattle. There is the same arrangement of swinging gates, extending from the central partition, 0, to the other end of the car, similar to those which have been already described, excepting in this, that the stalls extending from the right-hand side of the partition 0 in the compartment as face one side of the car, while the stalls on the left-hand side of the partition 0 in the compartment y face the other side of the car. One object of this arrangement is to allow the cattle to be driven into both compartments from either side of the car.

I will now describe the manner in which the cattle may be placed in the car.

The sliding door j on one side of the car, which is similar to the doors placed in the sides of cattle-cars now in common .use, being opened as far as the central partition, 0, the swinging gates i, which form the stalls in the compartment into which the cattle are driven, are closed and fastened, while the gate f, on the opposite side of the car from which the cattle are beingloaded, is opened, and the gates i, on the other side of the partition in the compartment 3 are swung toward the partition 0. The first animal driven in through the door j passes to the other side of the car, and thence past the partition 0, through the open gateway f, into the compartment 3 until it reaches the end of the car, as shown by the arrows in theldrawin gs. The swinging gatet' is then shut, and the animal is fastened in the stall formed thereby. The next animal is brought through the car in the same manner, and the next swinging gate is shut and fastened, and so on until the compartment is full. The gatefis then closed and fastened, and the swinging gates i, in the compartment 00, to the right of the central partition, are opened that is, they are swung toward the central partition, and the next animal is driven through the doorway but, instead of passing to the other side of the car into the compartment y, it is turned to the right and passes to the end of the car in the compartment .00, the swinging gate is closed, and so on until all the stalls are full.

At the head of the stalls formed by the swing-gates i is a water-trough, 70, which extends along the side of the car, and is fastened thereto by means of hooks and staples. The troughs 7c of the stalls, next to the partition 0, are made separate from the other troughs, so that they may be easily removed in order to allow the cattle to pass through the gates f.

Above the water-troughs are hay-racks l, extending from the beam 0 to the side of the car, and fastened thereto by hooks and staples. In the side of the car, above the hay-racks and above the troughs, are doors m and m, through which hay and water are placed in the rack and troughs. These may be formed by hinging one or more of the slats of the car to the one above or below, so that it may be swung outward. Along the side of and at the bottom of the car, at the rear end of the stall, is another door, 0. similar to the doors in m, through which the manure may be removed.

When it is desired to use the car for other purposes than that of carrying cattle all the partitions, gates, &c., may be removed and packed away in a comparatively small space, as follows: The upright posts 0 e are lifted up, the upper pintle sliding farther into the slot 62 until the lower pintle of the post is out of the slot 01. The posts, gates, and partitions may then be easily removed. The upright posts It and gates i may be removed in the same manner. In order to prevent these posts from being unstepped by the motion of the car they are held by the stops 1 which are pegs fastened to the posts by pins and staples and extending against the top of the car.

The water-troughs being fastened to the side of the car by hooks are easily removed, and the hay-racks being hooked to the side of the car may be loosened, swung back, and hooked to the top of the car, where they are out of the road, as shown at q in the drawings. The car is now clear, and the partitions, posts, 850., may be packed away at one end of the car, where they will occupy the space of from eighteen inches to two feet in depth.

In order to protect the cattle from the weather, strips may be placed between the slats of the car at the rear ends of the stalls, as shown at r.

The advantages of my invention are that cattle, during transportation, may be free from danger of injuring each other, and that they may be properly fed and attended while in the cars.

The carrying capacity of the cars now in general use is about from fourteen to eighteen head of cattle, and in my improved car it is about from twelve to sixteen head of cattle, the difference being insignificant as compared with the increased safety and comfort afforded.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patcut, is

l. A cattle-car divided opposite its doors by a transverse partition having a gate at each end, the two compartments thus formed being subdivided into a series of stalls by swinging partitions or gates, the stalls of the compartments facing in reverse direction, and one or more of the swinging partitions next the central partition on each side being a folding partition, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. A cattle-car divided opposite its doors by a transverse partition having a gate at each end, the two compartments thus formed being subdivided by partitions into a series of stalls, the stalls in the compartments facing in reverse direction, and each series of stalls provided with a feed-trough common to all of said series excepting the stall next the central partition, which stall is provided with an indehinges on the ends of the meeting-rails of the pendent and detachable trough, substantially parts, having a pintle on each part, so as to as and for the purpose specified. fold upon either side, substantially as and for 3. The partition for subdividing cattle-cars the purposes described. 5 into stalls, the same consisting of the detacha- In testimony whereof I, the said WILLIAM I 5 ble post or upright h, and the folding partitionz' O. ALSTON, have hereunto set my hand. (1 and 2) hinged to the post, the parts com- WILLIAM G. ALSTON. bined substantially as and for the purpose Witnesses: specified. FRANK W. SMITH, 1o 4. The double stall-partition provided with JNO. K. SMITH. 

